Comment replies.

HeeHeeHee01: Akino is a bit of a bastard, isn't he?
TheeBooksInTheFire: They wouldn't be as great if they weren't crazy and apple addicted. And the war was an "accident" :P
Sparanda: I heard. It made me sad because it wasn't playing in any theaters around here :( I've so gotta get my brother to download it soon.
ActionFry: Weell, Kira was already Killer Koala. I haven't given a separate name to Light yet in this chapter, but I changed Kira's codename. Seriously, though - put a couple of bolts in Mogi's neck and dye his skin greenish and he'd be like an anime Frankenstein XD I make strange observations.
Takun123: Me too. Being that it's sorta not in this chapter. Alpha may have slightly chickened out a little bit and had her shinigami reschedule it for her but Aaaaanywho.
Rinnalinn: I love Akino, but that could just be because he's my first OC shinigami and everything. And because he's a smart ass.
13Lulu's: Yeaah, can't blame you there.
n a g a s h i . n o . k u r o: Yep. Update. XP

Aaaanywhozles. Onto the story?

Alpha kept her eyes off to the side, rather nervously, though she was sure he had seen that the floating apple had been near her. What else could he possibly assume? And surely Kira wouldn't want another death note user around, one that could possibly foil his plans by discovering his name and killing him. Alpha silently thanked whatever force was watching over her for the fact that she had lived at Wammy's for enough of her life for her identity to be protected better than most other humans. She didn't think Akino was enough of a bastard to go giving out her name to random people. Aside from him, the only person that knew her real name was Watari, and he wasn't going to tell anyone. It was his duty to keep any orphan from the Wammy House's identity safe.

She heard Akino cackle, and she scowled. What the hell was that idiot shinigami thinking?

She knew when she looked up and he was back in front of her. He reached through the bag sitting next to her (and she scowled, despising the fact that she couldn't kick his ass for this since he could go translucent whenever he pleased) and grabbed another apple. "The Kira kid wants to talk to ya," he said, sounding deathly amused. Alpha glared at him as he took a bite of apple. Akino shrugged. "What'd ya expect? If ya distract him for long enough, I might be able to make it so you can see his shinigami without him figuring it out."

"Oh, thanks."

"Hey, I'm trying to be helpful!"

"No, what you're trying to do is get me killed!" she said, pointing at him accusingly. "What if he's got that thing that B did where he automatically knows my name?"

Akino shook his head. "He doesn't. Apparently the King did up my level if I can tell the difference now," he added, quite proudly. Alpha grimaced. "I'm a level three or two now. Two's generally as high as anyone can get, almost no one gets up to one. Anyway, yeah, I doubt you give a damn. You don't have to talk to the kid, but he might follow you if ya don't, which you probably don't want happening. Then he might figure out where L is."

"You don't have any plans of walking in there waving an apple behind my head, do you?"

He sighed. "No…" he said disappointedly – he had definitely been planning something, then. "I guess I can be a good shinigami and go in the other room to eat them…"

"Thank you."

"Yeah, just don't get used to me being subservient. I'm just being nice since I got so many apples." He looked back at the kid and the other floating apple. "What should my message be?"

"Tell him I'll agree to meet up with him later, and that I'm in a hurry right now. Have him send his shinigami to tell you to get me, if he won't tell him that I'm on the investigation team."

"He won't, he's just in this for laughs," Akino said. "I can't blame him, it is pretty amusing."

"Yeah. Shinigami find death and destruction and war amusing, I know."

"I told you that war was an accident…" he grumbled. He spread out his wings and hovered across the street back over to the boy and his fellow apple wielder. Alpha watched disinterestedly, her heart pounding at rates that probably signaled heart attacks in normal people, and waited for Akino to come back. He took only a moment to roughly explain the situation before flying back over, and giving her a reply. "A week from now," he said. "That side of the road over there, same place basically, so you should be able to find it."

"Time?"

"Noon."

"That works," she said, though the idea did make her apprehensive. Kira was suspicious of her. That wasn't good at all. "I'll just have to make sure the investigation team is out of coffee again by then."

Akino cringed. "This doesn't involve you being hyper, does it?"

"Depends on how much caffeine I have to ingest." Akino cringed again, and Alpha laughed. "Good, now I have a secret weapon."

"I'm a shinigami. I could easily just kill you," he pointed out.

Alpha shrugged. "Good point." She stood up. "I take it we can go?"

"Yep. Should be able to." He commenced floating behind her with an apple again, which would no doubt coax more strange looks from passersby. Alpha sighed inwardly at this. Yes, passersby would think she was some strange sort of psychic, but it wasn't exactly something that she could stop herself. Akino wouldn't listen for anything.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I never thought I would say this, but I miss Wammys. I miss my blonde mini-me and that red-headed game addicted techie. I just heart Watery (woot!codenames) on the phone with Rabbit a minute ago – he had to nform Wammy's that their missing number had been found (took his time, didn't he? Not that I blame him for not wanting to talk to Rabbit, of course) and I overheard him and I went all nostalgia-memories on my ass.

Not to mention, remaining here will mean meeting Duck (by the way, Ant, that's Killer Koala's new codename. I'm sure you'll understand the Llama Song reference) next week, and I fear for my life. I managed to avoid it today – Akino's a stupid apple-eating bastard – but I can't avoid it forever now. It's not like I have a Death Note, so I'm not a threat to him at all or anything. As long as he doesn't find out I associate with llamas I should be all right.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Weirdo…" Alpha threw a glance over her shoulder at Akino, who had been reading as she wrote. She glared in response then, and moved over on her bed. He took another bite of one of his apples. "What? Come on, what's up with the codenames? You guard that damn thing like it's a death note, it's not like anyone'll ever get close enough to it to read it. And seriously, Rabbit?"

"Roger Rabbit," Alpha said, rolling her eyes. "You're a shinigami, I' wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Watery."

"Hey, I thought everyone was calling him Mr. Watery when I first got to Wammy's!" she said defensively.

"Duck?"

"Llama Song."

"I still don't understand the Llama thing entirely."

Alpha sighed. "The Greek letter for L is Lambda. I shortened it to Llama."

"Uh-huh. Any other code names?"

"Mello is Minime, I already mentioned that. Matt's 'Gameboy.' Near is either 'Sheep' or 'that little sheepy bastard.'"

"I was being sarcastic."

"Sorry. I must not be familiar with sarcasm in Shinispeak."

"Hey, how come I don't get a code name."

Alpha gave a snort of laughter. "Akino's weird enough to be a code name already."

She was glad to hear the sounds of wings spreading out at this, accompanied by annoyed grumblinkg. Akino was going to leave her alone for at least a little while – that was a good thing. She hated people – and shinigami – reading over her shoulder while she was writing anything. She glared at the patch of wall Akino had just floated off through before going back to her notebook.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Akino left! Woo! Probably not for long, though,don't get too excited. He's probably just off to start another war somewhere or something. Is it just me, or do the words "shinigami" and "fun" used together in the same sentence automatically seem to mean disaster? I think so. It seems so, at least.

Ugh. I want chocolate.

And dammit, Rabbit had better let Minime know that I'm all right. I miss that foulmouthed little hellion.

Dammit. Ant, stop making me all nostalgic before I replace you with a new notebook and name it Julius.

Kidding!

But seriously. Nostalgia sucks. Bigtime. As in, worse than a vacuum cleaner. You wouldn't know since you're a notebook, but I can assure you that it is no fun at all. I klnow I would hate it back at Wammy's. I'd be way too homicidal what with that silly Rabbit bugging me. Doesn't he know Trix are for kids? Sorry, couldn't resist.

Heck, I even miss that sheepy bastard that never said more that two words to me! I think he was afraid of me. I usually have that effect on little kids. Minime was just a strange exception to that, and I'm not even sure if Gameboy ever saw anything beyond his games. Or goggles. I think I even scared Llama a little on occasion. I
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Alpha glanced up at the doorframe quickly upon seeing a change in the light, then shut her notebook quickly. "Knock much?" she asked in a falsely curious tone. L blinked in response.

"Who were you talking to?" Alpha held up her notebook pointedly. "Did you rename it?"

"Huh?"

"Whoever you were talking to, you seemed to refer to them as Akino." Alpha's heart stopped for a moment. "It actually sounds familiar…" he continued, suddenly going into deep-thought mode, signified by the biting of his thumbnail and eyes swiveling up to stare at the ceiling. Uh-oh. That was a very bad thing.

"I was… I heard Watari's conversation with Roger. I was just discussing… things with Ant here." L's brow furrowed slightly at the word "discussing," but he spoke nothing of it. He would have been told off if he had, so that was quite wise. "That name probably came up once or twice."

"And what is it?"

"Think B."

His eyebrows rose back to their normal height as he understood. "Oh."

"Did you know Kira got him?" she asked. "I saw his name in the prison victim files in the paperwork."

"Yes. It wasn't that long ago, it was the first name I noticed after I saw what prison it was. Roger wishes to speak with you as soon as possible," he continued now, off of the subject of Beyond Birthday as though it had never been brought up. "Watari has information on how to contact him."

Alpha didn't mind the subject change. It allowed her to ask the question that would burn a hole in her tongue if it was allowed to stay sitting there for any longer. She had to know. "Did he tell –?"

"I believe that was what he wished to speak with you about," L intercepted before she could finish. Alpha raised an eyebrow in question. "I am unaware of the details, only that it does concern Mello. As the investigation team is not present at the moment, now would be the best time."

Alpha flinched inwardly, debating. She wasn't sure if her aversion to that old codger was stronger than her curiosity or now, but her curiosity definitely seemed to have the upper hand in this, at least for the moment. She also couldn't bring herself to debate the subject of ignoring Roger if it also meant ignoring Mello. That was more than enough to make her give up the fight, right then and there, before she could even start it. She sighed.

"Where's Watari?" she asked resignedly.

L held up a piece of paper that Alpha had entirely missed, unaware until now that he had been holding it. "The phone number is here. As long as you write it down in your notebook, it will almost definitely never be found by anyone who shouldn't see it."

"'Almost' definitely?"

"A ninety nine percent chance."

Alpha rolled her eyes at in an overdramatic fashion at his usage of percentages as she hopped off of the bed she had claimed as hers, walked over to L, and retrieved the paper. "I'll bet he only mentioned Mello to trick me into calling him," she said starting to head back to her bed to retrieve her cell phone from her bag.

"I will have to ask that you do not use your phone." Alpha stopped and turned back around to face L, halfway to her bed, and raised her eyebrows in question. "The call could be intercepted," he explained. "I have installed a tap-proof phone within this hotel room, and it would be better for you to use it to contact Wammy's."

Alpha shrugged in silent agreement. "Same one Watari was using earlier?"

"Yes."

She walked back to the door and out of it, past L. In the sitting area, she fell onto the couch situated next to the end table that the phone was on and picked it up from its receiver. She looked at the paper and dialed the number written upon it, then waited through a few rings. The phone on the other end of the line was answered just as L took his previous spot at a table on the other side of the room with his laptop open.

"Hello?" Roger's voice said.

"I heard you wished to speak with me, Roger."

There was a silence on the other line for a moment. "Alpha," Roger said finally, his voice as toneless and monotonous as she remembered it. "To be completely honest, it is an amazement to me that you are even still alive."

Alpha gave a snort of laughter, though it was entirely humorless. "Thanks for the faith," she said sarcastically.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Roger asked, sounding exasperated.

"I could say the same for you," Alpha said venomously. "Now, I'm not calling you so we can reminisce over our utterly wonderful time together as coworkers at Wammy's," she continued. "I'm sure you know why I'm calling you."

"Mello." It wasn't a questin at all. Alpha was quiet for a moment, but then she spoke, her voice much quieter than she had intended it to be.

"Have you told him?"

"No." His businesslike tone of voice stung slightly. "You have been gone for four years. What makes you think he would be concerned about it after that amount of time?"

Alpha clenched her jaw shut, fighting back the wave of profanities she wanted to answer him with. She managed to answer calmly enough, though her anger shook her voice a little. "L told me that Mello has asked him about me every time he has returned to the orphanage since I left. Are you accusing him of lying?" Then, not quite as calmly, she continued through gritted teeth. "You're a bastard for even suggesting that my absence has gone without any concern on his part. You didn't see that kid the night I left."

Roger sighed wearily on the other end of the conversation. "I thought it would be an attempt made in vain. Alpha, for a year after you left, Mello was probably the most antisocial child at this orphanage. He refused to speak with anyone but his roommate Matt in a civil manner, he was rude with his superiors, and his schoolwork fell so far behind that he was ranked close to the bottom of his age group. There is no denying that it devastated him. He is back to normal now – as normal as Mello can be. He is still rather arrogant with most of the other children and his teachers, but he has improved."

Alpha found herself staring guiltily at her knees before Roger had even finished. She had lied to herself, and she had done one hell of a job of it. She had convinced herself that Mello would be fine without her around, that he had been old enough to cope with it. He hadn't bee. He was still slightly effected by her absence. She gulped back a lump in her throat and spoke evenly. "Then tell him," she said.

"Alpha," Roger said wearily, with another sigh, "listen to me, and try to understand what I am telling you. Mello is close enough to normal now that a change this drastic would ruin his current progress. What is there to say that he wouldn't run away from the orphanage to search for you?"

"He wouldn't," she whispered.

"He would. Mello is now the same age you were when you arrived here, and it is as though Wammy's is living through a repeat of you. The only difference with Mello is that his mentor is still alive and he has no one looking up to hi as he did to you. While caring for him may have been the perfect way to help you redeem yourself, I don't believe it was as much of a help to Mello."

"I know that." She still couldn't bring her voice above a whisper. "Don't rub it in. I've corrupted him and it's completely irreversible now. But he needs to know this. He wouldn't run away if you let me talk to him and I told him not to."

"Would you have run off if you found out your brother was alive?"

Alpha silently cursed Karen for telling Roger about the contents of her notebook all those years ago. "That's different," she said. That was a lie. It was so similar that it was almost scary. "I know he wouldn't."

"He would. You're lying to yourself if you truly believe he wouldn't. It is best if he continues to wonder. He is optimistic – he does not believe you are dead, and he is strongly confident that he will see you again. However, if it was confirmed for him that you are alive, he would almost definitely leave to track you down."

"He needs to know."

"It's better that he doesn't."

Alpha's hands were clenched – a nasty surge of static show through the phone and she quickly loosened her grip upon it. "He needs to."

"You're being very stubborn about this. At least tell me why you believe that he –"

"Because I need him to know! It's selfish, yeah, but no one ever accused me of being noble, did they? I feel like shit for leaving – it felt like I was abandoning my own child, and now I find out he still hasn't gotten over it entirely – I just need him to know. Wondering every day will do him no good whatsoever."

"I'm not going to tell him."

"Dammit, Roger! I – you –" She made a frustrated noise and gripped the phone too tightly again. "Fuck this, I'm going."

"Alpha –"

"What?" she snapped.

"May I at least ask your reasoning for leaving on such short notice four years ago?"

"No."

She dropped the phone back onto its receiver at this and stood up to stalk off to the bedroom. When she got there, she slammed the door behind her, chest heaving in anger. Even halfway across the world, four years later, Roger still pissed her off like no other entity could have managed.

"Whoa, who pissed in your cheerios?"

All right, perhaps like no other entity besides the one floating leisurely over her bed with an apple could have. "Roger," she growled at him. Akino bit the core of his apple in half.

"Ah. Right." He then swallowed the remaining half. "Then goodbye."

"You're actually going to let me seethe in peace?" Alpha's anger faded into curiosity for a moment.

"Yep. Anyone who was ever at that hellhole at the same time you were knew your views on Roger. I'd rather not have to listen to that, go talk to your notebook or something. I'll be back later."

"Off to wreak havoc and cause mayhem, of course," Alpha said as he ducked through the wall again, leaving her alone with her thoughts. L would almost definitely steer clear of her for the rest of the night. Watari was… somewhere. That man has one hell of a knack for disappearing. The investigation team wouldn't be back until tomorrow – hopefully she would be able to calm herself down by then. Hopefully. She shook her head and moved over to her bed. She fell onto her back upon it, grabbed her notebook, and stuffed it under the pillow. She would have to write later, when she could hold a pen without her hands shaking.